Field in Alness set to host harvest celebration as part of Scotland-wide creative programme Dandelion as Unexpected Garden blossoms into something special
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A FLOURISHING community garden created on a Ross-shire industrial estate will be among 13 sites to host a harvest celebration as part of a Scotland-wide creative programme.
The Field in Alness will offer free garden-grown food alongside a programme of workshops and live music on September 10.
It is part of Dandelion, a major creative programme, which brings together music and art with science and technology to inspire people to ‘Sow, Grow and Share’ music, food, ideas and stories.
It has been following the arc of the growing season and will culminate with modern-day harvest celebrations in 13 Unexpected Gardens and 44 community spaces and schools across the country from September 9-11.
The Field, tucked in between concrete lots and corrugated buildings on an industrial estate, is a community garden created by arts organisation Fèis Rois.
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Endless possibilities as garden blossoms
It provides opportunities for people of all ages to participate in traditional music, song and dance, youth group The Place and The Blooming Gardeners, a charity which gives adults with learning disabilities hands-on experience in horticulture.
The harvest celebration, taking place on September 10 between noon and 4.30pm, will feature performances from Mairearad Green, Corrina Hewat, and Dave Milligan.
For those unable to attend a Harvest event, Dandelion is inviting everyone to be part of the celebratory weekend by "growing their own" harvest celebration with friends, family, colleagues or their local community, by cooking a favourite dish to share, with something grown in Scotland.
Anyone who wants to be part of the nationwide harvest celebrations, can register their own harvest on the Dandelion website where they will be featured on a digital map showing the breadth of events across the country.
Angus Farquhar, Dandelion's creative director, said: "Harvest became a joyful festival over thousands of years, since we first picked fruit and nuts in season and marked the moment.
"Anywhere in the world, it’s the same story. In Scotland we still get together for Christmas, Burns Night, Bonfire Night and Eid but harvest has fallen away yet there’s never been a better time to celebrate all that is homegrown and homemade again and do it together.
"This September, we want to see people - wherever they are, whatever their growing experience, take part in Scotland’s oldest new festival, bringing food and music together for harvest.
"No matter the scale, let’s see if we can get harvest back out there."
Commissioned by EventScotland and funded by the Scottish Government, Dandelion is Scotland’s contribution to UNBOXED: Creativity in the UK.
The programme aims to make growing food as easy and accessible as possible to people of all ages and from all backgrounds.
Its creative programme of festivals, events and installations celebrates sustainability through community growing.
It includes a Dandelion Festival at the Northern Meeting Park in Inverness from September 2 - 4.
In addition to the public programme, 468 schools and 89,000 pupils across Scotland have taken part in Dandelion’s Schools Growing Initiative.
More information can be found at www.dandelion.scot.
